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- Posted September 10, 2007 -
Nate Brethower, a young Flambeau fan, recently caught this hybrid bass that weighed just a nudge under 9 pounds and measured just shy of 27 inches on 8 pound test. Nate's arms were completely wore out by the time he was holding the fish up for these pictures. |
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- Posted October 20, 2006 -
I went out Saturday morning (September 23, 2006) alone in the rain to the Rideau River (Kars, Ontario Canada). It was calm with intermittent showers. I was using a chartreuse spinner bait with a combination large willow leaf and smaller Colorado blade. I was casting into about 3 feet of water adjacent to a heavily weeded section of the river and retrieving to my boat which was in about 15 feet of water. I was in the main channel.
I had just completed my second cast when I saw the shadowy silhouette of a monster lurking in the darkness of the water following my lure. I really did not acknowledge what I had seen until it struck my lure with such ferocity that it snapped my rod like a toothpick.
The hook was set and the fight was on. I had to increase my drag since I did not have the luxury of a rod that could cushion his runs. I also regulated the line output by manually braking the line on the spool. For about 15-20 minutes, all I wanted to do was get a clear view of the beast. Finally it was getting tired and it surfaced by the sid of the boat.
It was huge. It was too big to net, so I decided to tire him out a little longer. If I was going to land this thing, I needed to exhaust him completely. I thought if I could exhaust him, I would be able to reach down, insert my fingers under his gill plate and flip him into the boat. Several minutes later, I can see he is spent. I lift what's left of my rod high into the air and make a stab to land him. Quickly I execute the plan and ... it's in the boat. He's laying down at the boat's bow and I'm visibly shaking. I cannot believe its size. I gaze momentarily at this behemoth and take a couple of measurements before I let him go. The hook easily releases as I've got him lightly hooked.
It's a beautiful fish, flawless, a combination of brown gray at the top and silvery along its flanks. It was 46 inches long and weighed 26 pounds. It takes a good 5 minutes to revive him but he slowly swims from my boat ready to fight another day.
Submitted by Walter Klus - Kanata, Ontario Canada |
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"Rambo of the Flambeau" Tackle Box
Kurt Christensen, Great Falls, MT
My family and I decided to go ice fishing/camping at Tiber reservoir near Chester, Montana. We arrived late in the evening. But, I had enough time to set up the camper, down load the four wheeler, and load up my ice fishing gear, then I ran around the lake and set tip up's before dark. I got the lines set, and ran back to the camper to check on my wife and the girls. |
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Shortly after dark, I decided to go and check tip up's before dinner; my 12 year old daughter and her friend wanted to go along for the ride, so I had to do a little re arranging of my gear on the four wheeler to include running a strap across the rear
rack and through the handle of my new Flambeau model #2137 tackle box my daughter just bought me for Christmas. I secured the tackle box and made room for all of us to fit. We got on the four wheeler and hit the lake which had a good 12 to 14 inches of ice on (it).
We crept our way out toward the center of the lake and I turned to head further up the lake; the next thing I saw in the head lights was a huge hole in the ice, and by the time I could grab the brake, we were in! The four wheeler pontooned out about fifteen feet and immediately nose-dived downward. The second we hit, I knew I had to get the
girls out of the water, but I instantly felt the dead weight in trying to keep my head above water. I was wearing Iceman® pack boots with cleats, insulated parka, pants, etc, and so were the girls. My daughters friend somehow managed to lose her boots and get out of the water fairly quickly. She was an incredible help with pulling while I was pushing and we managed to get my daughter out of the ice water. I was about ready to lose the fight, but thanks to some pretty heroic Montana folks, they managed to get me out.
The next day, after everyone was OK(ay), and somewhat recuperated, we got to the task of recovery.
Those same Montana folks had located the four wheeler sitting upside down on the bottom of the lake (mind you this would mean on top of the tackle box!). They got a rope on the four wheeler and started dragging it upside down - about 250 feet to the shoreline. Once the four wheeler was near the shoreline, they flipped it over - back onto it's wheels.
I saw the bent handle bars, the broken fender, and muddy scratched racks. I was amazed to see the tackle box; it had four inches of mud caked to it and was still hanging on the four wheeler by the strap I ran through the tackle box handle. After being drug across
the bottom of the lake with a four wheeler on top of it; it was still closed and functioned perfectly. Incredible!
Granted, I have a long list of things to be thankful for throughout this life saving event, but someplace near the end of that list, I am thankful your product withstood some very tough punishment. I could not even imagine how much it would cost to replace all the tackle in that box. Thanks for the "Rambo of the Flambeau" tackle box!
*Iceman is a registered trademark of LaCrosse Footwear, Inc. (LaCrosse, WI) |
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